January 1946
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THE SEED IS THE W O R D
THE FIELD IS THE WO RLD
Send for your free copy of this remarkable testi mony o f hatred turned to love. A JEW AND THE NAM E of JE SU S * -yew nna mm urffiK Hear, O Israel; Jehovah Our God, Jehovah is One! m r r 1 * 0 0
but the future holds no financial worries when you have an American Bible Society Annuity Agreement.
Daniel Rose. Director T rustee, B ib le In stitu te of L o s A ngele s, Elder, C h u rch of the Open D oor
The Bible Institute of Los Angeles maintains a J e w i s h Department whose ministry deals with the preach ing of the Gospel to God’s ancient people, Israel. From this office go out thousands of pieces of literature especially prepared to interest the Jews. Also many of the students are engaged in visitation work, calling upon the Jewish people and inviting them to the meetings. Teams of stu dents hold regular street meetings in places where an audience can be se cured. Various prayer meetings are held and every Sunday at 4 p.m. in the lower auditorium of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles a mass meet ing is held with fine speakers. You are invited to pray for the work of the Jewish Department, and to support this ministry by your prayers and gifts.
In the more than 100 years the Ameri can Bible Society has operated its An nuity Agreement Plan, it has met and triumphed over every world condition —depression, inflation, deflation, civil strife, world war. For no matter what conditions prevail, payments as high as 7% are sent out promptly twice a year without fail, bringing financial security and longer life to thousands. Let us tell you of this remarkable plan which has worked so long with out a single loss to any annuity holder
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TH E K I N G ’ S B U S I NE S S
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Contains more heart-warming, life-changing, songs; stronger, timelier responsive readings; more detailed topical index—95 headings— than any comparable book. Hands you a ready-made “ Victory” program. Ties returning service men tightly into church fellowship. Satisfies young and old—pulpit, choir, and congregation, ( Strongly and beautifully bound in attractive quality : cloth, die stamped. Inspection and comparison will; quickly convince you of its surpassing worth. Over 350 pages, 342 musical numbers, abundant Scripture readings for everyoccasion. Complete musical ^ *\ orchestrations.Priceremains asprevious- ly— only $60.00 a 100,not prepaid.
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Unrivaled Features &Advantages Contains the cream o f favorite hymns and songs that never die, with new, beautiful composi tions. An unrivaled assortment o f Devotional, Second Coming, and Worship hymns; songs o f Invitation, Redemption, Promise, Testimony; many Children’sNumbers and Choruses—God’s whole plan o f redemption in soul-winning song. TRBERIinCLE PUBLISHII1G COmPRIlY S60-A6 North Waller Avenue, Chicago 44 , Illinois
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3
SUNDAY SCHOOL HELPS FOR 1946
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S Published Monthly by and Representing
The Bible Institute of Los Angeles, Incorporated
Ransom Marvin John Bazart Illustrators Bruechert, Managing
William W . Orr, D.D. Associate Editor
Louis T. Talbot, D.D. Editor-in-Chief Betty
Editor
PELOU BET’S SELECT NOTES
A wealth of ma- terial for pas t o r s , teachers and students. Presented by Wilbur Smith.
Vol. 37
No. 1
BIBLE STUDY NUMBER
JANUARY
2.00 ARNOLD ’S PRACTICAL COMMENTARY A treasure chest of ideas. 1.25 GIST OF THE LESSON mentary. POINTS FOR EMPHASIS Hight C. Moore ,40 , M A N N A IN THE MORN ING E. Fuller & J . E. Wright Extracts from the sermons of Chas. E, Fuller and others ar- y Q Q ranged as daily readings. “ , w v STREAMS IN THE DESERT Mrs. Charles E. Cowman A classic volume of daily de- 1 CTfl votional readings. I •^ w THE BORROWED GLOW Richard Ellsworth Day Daily meditations from the pen _ of the author of Bush Aglow y Q Q and .Shadow of the Broad Brim. Aa®^ v DAYS OF HEAVEN ON EARTH A. B. Simpson Customers in California Add 2*6% State Sales Tax BIOLA BOOK ROOM (C. E. Andrew) 560 S. Hope St. Los Angeles IS Torrey’s v e s t - p o c k e t com- .40 DAILY MEDITATIONS A family devotional a golden text and a for each day. book with _ . sermonette | H Q
1946
CONTENTS: The Church and World Redemption, by W . B. R iley ............................. 4 Our Mightiest Weapon, by K . Owen W h ite .............. ............................. 6 Editorially Speaking........— ......................................................-..................... 8. The Atomic Bomb, by Frank E. Lindgren ................................................. 9 The Bible Book of the Month, by John A . Hubbard ...................................10 Abraham, the Friend of'G od , by Martin 0 . Massinger ............... 13 Acid Test Truth, by William M cCarrell ...................................................... 15 Living Three Days in One, by G . H . Clement ............,............ 16 Haiti, by John R . Turnbull ........................................... 17 Juriior King’s Business, by Martha S. H ooker... ...... .................................... 19 Bible Institute on t‘\'e Air................. :...............................................................21 Dr. Talbot’s Question Box................................................................................ 22 Devotional Readings................. 24 The Bible in the News.................................................................................. 26 Biola Family Circle................................................................... 27 Sunday School Lessons........ ........ ..'.................................................................. 30 Young People’s Topics, by W alter L. W ilson ....................................39 It’s an Idea, by Carlton C. Buck.... .............................................................. 41 Object Lessons for February, by Elmer L . W ild er ................................ —42 Book Reviews, by William W . O rr ........ i~ ....................................................44 Greek W ord Treasures', by Bernard Ramm ................. ................................46 Earth’s Treasure Heaps, by Paul R. Bauman ............................................. 47 S U B S C R IP T IO N IN F O R M A T IO N — “ The King’s Business" is published monthly; $1.50, one yr.; $2.00, two yrs.; 75 cents, six months; 20 cents, single copy. Clubs of three or more at special rates. Write for details. Canadian and foreign subscriptions 25 cents extra. It requires one month for a change of address to become effective. Please send both old and new addresses. R E M IT T A N C E S —Payable in advance, should be made by bank draft, express, or post office money order payable to “ The King’s Business.” Date of expiration will show plainly on outside wrapper or cover of magazine. . A D V E R T IS IN G —For information, address the Advertising Manager, 558 South , Hope Street, Los Angeles 13, Calif., or our eastern representatives, Religious Press Association, 51 No. 52nd St., Philadelphia 39, Pa. M A N U S C R IP T S — “ The King’s Business” cannot accept responsibility for loss or damage to manuscripts sent in for consideration. Entered as second-class matter November 7, 1938, at the Post Office a.t Los Angeles, California, under the Act of March 3, 1879. Acceptance for mailing at special rate of postage provided for in the Act of February 28, 1925, embodied in paragraph 4, section 538, P. L. and R., authorized October 1,-1918,. and November 13, 1938. - M ? A D D R E S S : The King’s Business, 558 So. Hope St., Los Angeles 13, Calif,
4
TH E K I N G ’ S B U S I NE S S
THE CHURCH
B y W . B . R i l e y
T HE SUBJECT of “The Church and World Redemp tion” is voiced in what is known as “The Great Commission.” While it is true, as Dr. I. M. Halde- age, but the Church “gathered out of it,” and made ready for its coming Lord, it is also equally true that Christ’s program did not stop short of a worldwide provision. The world’s doom cannot be charged to church-indifference. The epitome of the entire Gospel is John 3:16, “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” When Jesus defined “the field” in which and for which His followers were to work, He said, “The field is the world.” The last man is the only limitation on the Lord’s love. There is no more inharmony between the position of the evangelistic premillennialist, who believes that this age will see conditions wax worse and worse and men become increasingly inhuman and in need of personal salvation, and that of the socialistic teacher who insists that social reconstruction is both the privilege and re sponsibility of the present body of Christ, than there is between life-saving crews of a ship who first rescue from the billows the passengers already washed over board and then provide bandages for their wounds and cordials to warm them. . Of the answers given to The Delineator’s question, “What is the matter with the churches?” none rang more true to the Scriptures, while expressing the proper Chris tian sentiment, that that of Dr. Len Broughten, whose practice, let it be known, corresponded with his speech! He said, “The church lacks in application, and it will never command the respect of the world until it has given a response to every human need. At present it con sents for temporal needs to be assumed by outside or- ganizations—organizations that have no religious basis. The Church must not stand back and fold its arms wait- ing for some other organization to bring the precious spoil.” To the limits of its ability the Church should meet every reasonable demand. At home; yes, and the world
around. Our missionaries in all lands ought to persuade men to accept Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord, and then assist them to put out of their lives, out of their homes, and out of their conduct everything that is unchristian and harmful, and to show how to bring in everything that is uplifting and helpful. Dr. S. N. Patten was correct in his statement: “If we fail to do for Africa and India and China what the early Christians did for our German ancestors, a slow but certain death awaits the church.” ■If one enters upon historical research, he will discover that the entire social life of those German ancestors was lifted by the propaganda of the Church. The Gospel in the Social Order The kernel of that propaganda is the Gospel. As Mark reports Him, Jesus said: “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature” ; and He promised, “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.” The. very rise of socialism provides a ringing reason for our harking back to the Divine regime. Social order, apart from the gift of God’s Son; the reconstruction of society without the intervention of a Saviour; the promise of a millennium without the fulfillment of prophecy; the golden age without God—thèse are idle dreams, and when they are formed into far-selling books, they are nothing better than infidel philosophies, destined, to doom their advocates to disappointment. Henry Van Dyke maintained: “The French Revolution is an illustration: it produced some noble and self- sacrificing men, some earnest and fervent efforts for the welfare of the world. Its motto was, ‘Liberty, Equality, Fraternity.’ Its program proposed the reconstruction of society first, and attention to the claims of Christianity afterward. But in one hundred years how that ideal has been warped and distorted into the ugly shapes of An archism and Nihilism! If it should carry out its program for a material equality for every man, what security have' you for thinking that would give moral elevation and purity? What warrant for thinking that the new society would not be on a dead level of equally comfortable
man contended, that the world is not to be saved in this
< January, 1946
5
equally sensual, equally faithless and equally hopeless men and women, with no thought beyond this world and not a care except to see that no one got a larger share of the loaves and fishes than they secured for them selves?” Yes; one may go further and say that even the pro fession of the Christian faith, apart from its power, can' neither save the social ideal nor enable its noblest proph et to put the same into practice. Where in all history can you find a more potent illustration of that truth than the life of Profes'sor George D. Herron? We maintain, without hesitation, that no modern man has advocated socialism with such eloquence as he. No pen, ancient or modern, has clothed this ideology in such attractive garb, or wreathed its Brow with such garlands from the Gospel itself, as did Herron’s. But, while he was about this decorative business, his friends had to engage in clean ing the mud from his boots. Yea, more, they had finally to stay his hand and stop his pen and still his tongue, for sin conquered Herron, disgraced his name, destroyed his family, and rendered impotent his influence. His ex ample furnished the world a pitiful proof of the fact that, as Paul stated: ‘‘Though we, or an angel from-heaven, preach any other gospel unto you” than that of the com ing Lord, who alone will right the world’s wrongs, estab lish justice, dispense mercy, and provide an ideal state, “let him be accursed” ! You cannot let him be anything else! His false attitude will compel his final curse. Apart from a conquering Christ, both the individual and society will fail! Christ the Power of God But the Gospel is adequate, its Christ is sufficient, all nations are promised for His inheritance, and the meek are to own the earth. Personal salvation and social salva tion do not depend upon the changing of the world in all its methods and thought! Both depend upon changing men in their moral attitude and moral ideals; yea, in their very moral being. But Christ alone has the power to change the heart and the life. Faith alone can ap propriate it, so that “he that believeth shall be saved.” So it is true that to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ is to be saved; and in turn to become a savior. Pe/mit me to finish this with an appeal from Harold Begbie’s “Clinic in Regeneration.” It is the story of “Old Bom Drunk,” a man who came into the world a drunken baby, who developed into a besotted creature, feared even in the vicious section of London, not so much for his ferocity as for the vileness of his clothing, the un healthy appearance of his flesh and the brutality of his eye. The Salvation Army lass; known as the “Angel Adjutant,” stood dumfounded when she learned that there was a woman in the world low enough to love this “Old Born Drunk.” She was more amazed when she discovered that to this couple had been born a child who was passable in appearance, and seemed to have some promise of something better than his parents. With this incentive, she wrought until at last she succeeded in getting “Old Born Drunk” and his wife to attend a Salva tion meeting. There they sat in their filth, apparently stupefied. But at her invitation, they rose from their seats, and made their way to the front. The man spoke first: “Oh, I want to be like Joe!” Now, Joe was a notable convert from London’s slums; and (miracle of miracles!) God heard the cry of “Old Born Drunk” and made him like Joe. This transformed man and his wife went back into the streets to give proof of the power of the Gospel for the lowest life, and to provide- abundant evidence that Christ could help a man as certainly as air can carry up a bal loon. “Old Born Drunk” changed his vile clothing for clean dress; he not only quit liquor, but, as he himself said, “greater miracle yet,” he quit the pipe! The passions that
THE NEW YEAR
I do not know, ! cannot see What God’s kind hand prepares for me, Nor can my glance pierce through the haze, Which covers ail my future ways; But yet I know that o’er it all Rules He who notes the sparrow’s fall; Farewell, Old Year, with goodness crowned, A hand divine hath set my bound; Welcome the New Year, which shall bring Fresh blessings from my God and King, The Old we leave without a tear, The New we hail without a fear.
—Author Unknown.
1
had ruled him no longer had power over him; and, to his dying day, as he walked the streets selling his papers, he was an advertisement of the personal salvation that is in Jesus, and the social reconstruction to which one convert of His can so profoundly contribute. Begbie wrote: “In that particular quarter of London where he lived he was more famous, more watched, and more discussed than the heroes of the nations. His death was an event. His salvation was an ever-increasing influence. The quarter of the town in which he lived feels to this day, and will feel for many generations, the effect of the same.” Truly, both personal salvation and social recon struction rest with Christ. John Campbell Shairp spoke truly: “Subtlest thought shall fail and learning falter, Churches change, forms perish, systems go, But our human needs, they will not alter, Christ no after age shall e’er outgrow. “Yea, Amen! O changeless One, Thou only Art life’s guide and spiritual goal, Thou the Light across the dark vale lonely, Thou the eternal haven of the soul.”
6
TH E K I N G ’ S B U S I NE S S
Our
M istie st
Weapon
By K, Owen While
U ) c ( / J ' < k A * J E
If you are concerned because no adequate defense against the atom bomb has been discovered, you will be encouraged by this reassuring message.
Satan and sin; with it, he protects himself from the assaults of temptation. We speak of it as living and powerful yet, strangely enough, we do not seem to believe it! We face the amazing spectacle of denomi nations, churches, organizations and individuals pro fessing to believe that the Bible, God’s Word, is eternal, unchanging, living and powerful, and yet neglecting and forsaking it for philosophy, psychology, psychiatry, human wisdom and experience. Back to the Bible From time to time the cry is raised, “Back to the Bible!” For many it is not a question of coming back to it, but simply of coming to it at all. Theoretically,1they believe in it; actually, they do not. They use it as a con venience to save time and effort. They use it to seek to prove their own theories. They use it to give a religious flavor to their messages. They use it to provide catchy phrases and unusual topics. They use it as a point of departure and never return to it. They use its words and profess to build upon it, but they know nothing of its power. Perhaps the saddest element of all is that many of these are sincerely seeking to serve the Lord. They simply do not know that there is “a more excellent way.” Preach the Word Preachers must come to the realization that they are not called to be eloquent, or original, or unique, or spectacular, but to “preach the Word.” The only great preacher is the preacher of the Word of God. The power is not in the preacher, but in the Word, and through the Spirit, who carries it to the heart of the hearer. In his b i o g r a p h y of D. L. Moody, Bush Aglow, Richard E. Day states that a woman in Brooklyn once said to Mr. Moody: "We have plenty of preaching in Brooklyn, but if you will tell us something about the Bible, it will be blessed to us.” - Moody accepted the challenge, prepared a simple Bible reading, and “the ravishingly sweet fires of God at once came down.” Moody himself is responsible for the statement: “A man cannot be convicted by any means save the Holy Spirit’s working through the Word.”
ECENTLY our scientists succeeded in unleashing and turning upon our foes the basic power of our universe—atomic force. The world is still reeling from the impact of it. The atomic bomb did more than to destroy two Japanese cities; it awakened people everywhere to the plain, yet awful truth that, unless the Lord intervenes, man has now within his grasp a weapon which literally can devastate the earth and blot out every living creature. This realization is all the more fearful when we consider the fact that the constant recurrence of war is clearly prophesied in the Scriptures. So long as men are unregenerate, so long as sin reigns in the hu man heart, so long as God is ignored and forgotten, just so long shall we have “wars and rumours of wars.” Surely we are hastening on toward the end of the age! Yet the days to come may show that the things which have happened are for “the furtherance ,of the Gospel.” New highways and skyways have been opened; jyast territories have been made available; progress has unlocked many doors long closed; the banner of the Cross may be planted where the flags of war have been unfurled. Atomic Energy Not the Greatest Force Many have spoken of the atomic bomb as the most destructive weapon ever conceived. This is true, but it is not our mightiest weapon. Our mightiest weapon is not material, but spiritual. Of necessity it must be so, “for we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wicked ness in high places” (Eph. 6:12). Powerful as it is— two thousand times more powerful than any bomb previously devised—the atomic bomb is but a weak and puny thing compared to our mightiest weapon. The atomic energy thus released has been used for destruc tion, but our mightiest weapon is destructive only of evil and constructive only of good. Of course, I speak of ‘ the word of God which is living and powerful and sharper than any twoedged sword” (Heb. 4:12). Since it is twoedged, it is designed both for offense and de fense. With it, the believer attacks the strongholds of
7
January, 1946
has happened? There is “ a famine of the hearing of the words of the Lord.” In some sections of our beloved country, the preaching of a Gospel sermon is the excep tion rather than the rule. All too many of our theological schools have forsaken the “living fountains of waters” and are hewing out “broken cisterns.” Hosts of young men leave such schools and go to their fields, not as prophets whose hearts have burned within them as Christ opened to them the Scriptures, but as social reformers inspired with the vision to “ build a new world.” You cannot build a new world upon the wisdom of sinful man! What of the thousands of supposedly orthodox churches which seem bereft of power and impotent in the face of the world’s tragic need? Can it be that we have laid aside our mightiest weapon? Can it be that organization without spiritual life, and sound doctrine without personal application, and nominal lip service rather than sincere heart service, have taken their toll? There is a way back! Individually, and as churches, we must “take the sword of the spirit which is the Word of God.” I am firmly convinced that any church whose pastor and people will constantly and continually mag
R. A. Torrey was a great preacher because he preached the Word. His last injunction to a former fellow student of mine, given shortly before his death, was, “Preach the Word!” Jonathan Goforth testified: “I think I can safely say that, during the forty-one years that I have been on the foreign field, I have never once addressed a Chinese audience without an open Bible in my hand, from which I coaid say, 'Thus saith ¿he Lord’ !” Yes, the preacher must realize with a passionate, intense, earnest conviction that he is called to preach the Word. But there is another consideration. His people must want and expect him to preach the Word. Many a preacher now playing around with short historical essays, brief literary gems, little, inoffensive sermon- ettes, or excursions into the field of social service, could be brought to the necessity of Bible preaching, if his people came to him and lovingly, earnestly, and sin cerely laid the challenge before him. “Like-people, like priest” is as true as “Like priest, like people.” A preacher on fire for the Lord may do much to transform a con gregation, but a congregation on fire for the Lord may do much to mold their preacher. Many a congregation yearns for the plain, unvarnished preaching of God’s
nify the Word will experi ence an outpouring of power from on high. So mighty is this weapon that there are no limits to what can be accom plished. Perhaps a word of per sonal testimony may be permitted. Possessed of a conviction that the great est need of our church is a knowledge of the Word, I have taken the Book, and, chapter by chapter, I have preached through many of its books. Three things have happened— the lost have been saved; the Lord’s own people have come to church in large numbers; the church has grown in grace and power. Over a period of
Word. Many people with hungry hearts come to church and receive a stone for bread, but perhaps they are partly to blame; they may n e v e r have prayed that their pastor might truly “preach the Word” ; they may never have opened their hearts to him in such a way that he was driven to the Word for every message. What is true of the preacher is true also of every Sunday school teacher, and of all who have the responsibil ity of leadership in the life of the church. It Shall Not Return Void From my student days at Biola, during college
' “ Even the darkness has a message of cheer. ' ; , The shadows point to the dawn. As I wake , in the twilight of the morning, I often see the ( glimmer of the street-lamps falling upon the • , walls of my chamber, but in a little while a , ' > lamp-lighter passes by and turns out one after ■ ! another, leaving the room in deeper darkness 1 than it had been at any time during the whole | . night. Yet I know that he is only putting out 1 ’ the street-lamps because he knows that in a ‘ ; little while the sun will rise and flood all the heavens with its light. So the darkness heralds , the dawn." — A. J . Gordon , **+>>**>**** * *+i*+++***** ^ + ^ 1
eight years’ ministry in Atlanta, Georgia, approximately eight hundred people made profession of faith in Christ under such preaching of the Word of God. In Washington, the nation’s capital, with all of its confusion and sin, the same blessing is being experienced. “Is not my word like as a fire? saith the Lord; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?” (Jer. 23:29). Where is our faith in the Word of God? Why should we conduct ourselves as though there were more power in our words than in the Bible? We must preach the Word, but we must preach the Word to people and not to empty pews. Pastor and people, by public proclamation and personal testimony, must use this mighty weapon! “For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it” (Isa. 55:10, 11).
and seminary training, and on through nearly twenty years of pastoral activity, there has been a growing con viction in my heart that in all of our work we must honor the Word of God supremely. We must believe it, love it, build upon it, follow it and obey it. The Word of the Lord and the work of the Lord are'forever bound together. According to numerous statements in the Book of Acts, it is the Word of God which grows and is multi plied, not the personality, reputation, or ability of the workers. "And the word of God increased; and the num ber of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly” (Acts 6:7). “But the word of God grew and multiplied (Acts 12:24). “So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed” (Acts 19:20). Compare those statements with the reports of the average church today! Look at the picture clearly. There is a cold formalism which for bids evangelistic fervor. There is a sleepy indifference which banishes concern for the lost. There is widespread worldliness which robs the churches of any real, vital testimony. Thousands of churches have abandoned their Sunday evening services; others have given up their prayer meetings. Many churches now close their doors entirely for the summer months. Some carry on, but there is neither heart nor power in their activities. What
EDITORIALLY
New Department T5ECAUSE -it is the sincere belief of The King's Business that one of the greatest needs of the child of God to day is to actually study the Bible, we are with this issue inaugurating a new Bible department. Under the scholarly direction of Dr. John A. Hub- bard, for the past twenty-six years, h.ead of the Department of English Bible at the Bible Institute of Los An geles, we are to select a Book from that library of 66 books, the Holy Bible, to be our “Book of the Month.” Our readers will be asked to read and reread this book as many times as possible during the month, and to make use of the valuable helps of fered by Dr. Hubbard. The lasting benefit which will come from such a practice is beyond belief. This method was made popular by the late Dr. James M. Gray of the Moody Bible Institute, and, more than any other plan of study, has made Bible lovers of Bible Institute students and others. Our readers are earnestly requested to join us in this monthly exercise. ' Most Christians spend shockingly lit tle time-in actual Bible study, which results in spiritual anaemia. The pre scription of the Great Physician for such cases is a rich and steady diet of the vitalized Word of God! ★ ★ Nevertheless the Foundation o f God Standeth Sure fTlHE world is genuinely frightened. A Without doubt there has never been a time when such universal panic has gripped men’s hearts. The normal aplomb of men seems to be gone. Men not usually given to religious utter ances are declaring that the only way out is a spiritual one. ' The general feeling is that our new ly d i s c o v e r e d and demonstrated atomic e n e r g y is a Frankenstein, which will eventually destroy us all. The public press is full of plans to control the use of the almost incon ceivable energy of the atom. The in telligentsia of the world are rushing into print with their suggestions of solutions. Debates fill the air. One can scarcely engage in a conversation of any length without having to dis cuss the great question of the fear of the future. Truly the world has “the jitters,” and no wonder! How refreshing and how heartening, then, to turn to the pages of the im perishable Word of God and read, “Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The
Lord knoweth them that are his.” Here is God’s answer to fearful hearts. Here is divine courage for dark days. Here is unfailing help in dire emer gency. True, the world is in a terribly dangerous p o s i t i o n—nevertheless, nevertheless, nevertheless . .. God! God knows who are His; He remem bers us; He will care for us. Praise His matchless Name! Christians everywhere should be re minded that this is the day when our testimony counts most. The man of the world is watching us. He wants to know if the peace of God which we claim to possess, is sufficient for these days. Let us therefore drink deeply of the life-giving promises of God so that our testimony to the keeping power of our God may be used to turn men and women to the One who said, “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth,” and “Fear not, little flock.” ★ ★ It’ s Now or Never ipHE YEAR of peace for which we "L have so earnestly prayed has come. The restrictions and stringencies of the past four dark years are being lifted gradually. Commerce is being resumed and travel is again possible. Things are beginning to get back to normal status, but for the people of God with a vision of the world’s need, they must not be allowed to settle back into what has been considered a normal level. Peace has not come as a matter of course. It is the work of God. It holds a challenge from God. After allowing the most devastating conflict civili- zation has ever known, including a brief, but terrifying demonstration of man’s most deadly weapon, the Lord has suddenly brought peace. Without His intervention, it is conceivable that war might have continubd until the nations utterly destroyed each other. Nor is this a nightmare of religious fanatics. Hardheaded military men who know the possibilities of destruc tion thank God for the cessation of warfare which unmistakably He has granted. Why peace? There is but one an swer, and that is that God' is giving the Church of Jesus Christ another— the last—chance. We must evangelize now or never. The doors of the world swing open again for a short time. Will the Church then gird itself, and enter those doors with the message of life? Or, will it settle down to its usual dillydallying, battling over non-
essentials, and criminally misusing time and opportunity? Now is the time. Now is the time to pray. Pray earnestly as if everything depended^ upon prayer. Now is the time to organize our forces, to system atize our finances, to lay plans for spiritual conquest. Now is the time to challenge youth for the mission field, to train them for God’s service,, to send them forth. This is the day and this is the hour. God help us to awak en to our all-important task—NOW! ★ ★ .The Coming World Center It was thrilling to read a recent edi torial in Life magazine which unwit tingly was prophetic to the last de gree. In discussing the problem con nected with choosing a suitable, site for the* headquarters of the United Nations Organization, the Life editor told how strenuously delegations from various American cities were compet ing for this honor. Then he went on to point out that there were excellent reasons why the UNO should not be quartered in any United States city but that, without a doubt, the logical place for such a world capital was Palestine, the Holy Land! He argued that such a move would settle the current Jewish-Arab strife, and would furnish an experimental station in which to practice the principles of world peace. We have been informed that *the editor of Life has a background of evangelical Christianity, as the son of missionary parents, but we doubt ,if an interest in the prophecies of the Bible prompted the suggestion of this plan. However, it happens that this is exactly what will occur^in God’s time. The great overshadowing event of the future is the personal return of the Lord Jesus Christ and the setting up of His earthly kingdom. Many prophecies attest the fact that Jerusa lem is indeed to be the governmental and political, as well as the geo graphical, c e n t e r of the world, to which one day the representatives of the nations will journey to pay hom age to the King of kings. It is our opinion that Jerusalem will not now be chosen by the UNO; undoubtedly a city of the United States will be selected where it will again be dem onstrated that it is futile to endeavor to have peace without the Prince of Peace. One day, by God’s power and wisdom, Jerusalem will become the international capital, and then only will righteousness and peace cover the earth as the waters cover the sea.
9
January; 1946
An Address Delivered on the Bible Institute on the Air at the 11 A. M. broadcast over Radio Station KMTR.
By Frank E. Lindgren, D. D. Assistant Pastor of the Church of the Open Door
I AM NOT inclined to undue excite ment or to particular elation over some special event that may seem to have some prophetic signifi cance. When, in the early part of the war, Germany and Russia were united against the Allies, some enthusiasts immediately saw prophetic utterance fulfilled, and began to chart the re mainder of the course, but their whole program faded out when those two nations went to war with each other. An Awakened World Prophetic teachers have often called' attention to the licentiousness of this day—the utter disregard of decency; drunkenness with its attendant vices; warfare between capital, and labor and between labor unions; the general re ligious apostasy and various other signs that seem to indicate the immi nent return of the Lord. On the other hand, these conditions are nothing new in the world’s history; we are merely growing very much worse in every bad thing. But the atomic bomb has startled even the most complacent individuals. Utterances are coming from unexpect ed sources that compare favorably with the things we “illiterate funda mentalists” have been saying for years. When we are told by Einstein that atomic bombs can easily kill two-thirds of the world’s population, we wonder about the Jot of the re maining one-third. Some go further and see the complete annihilation of the human race. In fact, if you let your imagination run riot, no horror seems beyond the range of possibil ity. Is This the End? George Bernard Shaw, noted British author, contemplating the changes so suddenly thrust upon us, states: “If my thinking has been sound, then this world is at the end of its tether. The end of everything we call life is close at hand and cannot be evaded. Hith erto events have been held together by a certain logical consistency, as the heavenly bodies have been held to
gether by the pull, the golden cord of gravitation. Now it is as if that cord had vanished, and everything is driv ing anyhow to anywhere, at a steadily increasing velocity.”
The Coming World Ruler The world will be secure when one nation controls all nations and that nation, in turn, is under a supreme ruler or dictator. That, growing out of an ever increasingly desperate sit-' uation, is exactly what is going to happen, and, in all probability, it will occur within the next'five years. Otherwise, complete destruction of the greater part of the world will take place. The scientists have given the world about five years for any de gree of security. The major nations will have, by that time, full informa tion as to the structure of the atom bomb and will be engaged in its man ufacture. Again we quote Einstein: “If a world government is not created by agreement, it will come in a much more dangerous form, with a war, or wars, ending in one supreme power dominating the rest of the world.” The Tribulation This brings us to prophetic utter ances. Certainly, according to the Word of God, there will be a world government, and it will exist by agree ment. We bring the assurance, how ever, that the world will not be com pletely destroyed—not yet. This should be welcome news to the mod ernist even if it comes from a funda mentalist. In Revelation 7:9 we are told of “the great tribulation” aind given a picture of the multitude who will be saved “which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues.” So all nations will be in existence at that date, but, prior to that period, a world dictator, called in Scripture language “the man of sin,” “ the antichrist,” “that Wicked," will hold the reins of government over all the world. He cannot make his appearance, however, until the true, blood-bought Church is taken up to be with the Lord. "The mystery of lawlessness doth already work; only there is one that restraineth now, un til he be taken out of the way. And then shall be revealed the lawless (Continued on Page 12)
Dr. Lindgren What can be done must be done at once. That there is no successful de fense against the atom bomb is gen erally admitted. According to scien tists and politicians, there is but one hope: a world government, or some international organization, to which the secret and manufacture of these bombs may be intrusted. But we should know by this time that there is no security in the agreements of nations over anything. In the face of the facts, it is almost ludicrous to hear liberal religionists talk of “build ing a new world.” Out of what? Cer tainly they have not an ounce of in fluence anywhere in the whole world. With but little faith in the Bible, what can they do? This matter-of-fact world is not gullible enough to take any stock in a plan from this source.
10
TH E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
BOKOFTHEMOM
The first s e l e c t i o n o f twelve great b o o k s f r om the Scrip tures to be studied during 1946.
By John A. Hubbard, D. D.
QINCE WITH THIS issue we are be- ^ ginning some articles on the study of the Bible by books, the following suggestions for the most profitable Bible study are offered: 1. There must be diligent study-— hord, honest work. “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a work man that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15). “Salvation is by faith, but a knowledge of the Scriptures comes only by works,” wrote William R. Newell. The statement in Proverbs 13:4 may well be applied to Bible study: “ The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing: but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat.” The Bible has been likened unto a gold mine; In a gold country, some nuggets are found on the surface, but for the richer treasures one must dig more deeply. So it is with the Bible: for its best, a real search must be made. With respect to diligent study, the Bible is to be handled like any other book. But, since the Bible is different from all other books, there are certain requisites for its.study not necessary in the perusal of other works. Given the necessary time and brain power, man can understand what man has written. For really profitable Bible study, a great deal more than this is required. 2. There must be a renewed heart and mind. (Read carefully 1 Corin thians „2:9-14.1 „ “The natural man” is the unre generate man, and as such, he can ap preciate and enjoy the Bible merely as literature. He is blind to its real purpose which is primarily for spir itual enlightenment and progress. The natural man is without spiritual dis cernment and must be “ born again” in order to understand the things of the Spirit. 3. The mind must be opened to re
ceive the truth. “These were more noble than1those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so” (Acts 17:11). The message which Paul gave to these Bereans was entirely new, and different from anything they had ever •heard, but they received it with an open mind. Then they searched the ,Scriptures to check upon its genuine ness. The outcome was that "many of them believed” (Acts 17:12). If our preconceived notions are wrong, we must be willing to discard them and give way to new light. 4. Another prime requisite is obedi ence to the truth. Not only must we bring t
my meditation” (Psa. 119:99). The man who meditates upon the Word of God day and night prospers in his spiritual life. (Read Psa. 1:1-3.) Medi- tation has been likened to the process of digestion and assimilation with respect to the food we eat, and it is significant that a synonym for the English word, “meditate,” is “rumi- nate,” which means “to chew the cud.” 7. A seventh indispensable requisite for profitable Bible study is the illumi nation of the Holy Spirit. The reader is urged to consider the following Scrip tures in this connection: 1 Corin thians 2:9-12; John 14:26; 16:12, 13. It is impossible to understand the Bible without this enlightenment of the Holy Spirit. Since the Holy Spirit dwells within every one who has been born again, it is the privilege of all believers to have Him thus throw His light upon the Word. 8. Finally, we call attention to the fact that, since Jesus Christ is the central theme of the whole Bible, all real study of the Word will ultimately lead to Him. (See John 5:38, 39, R.V.; Luke 24:27, 44.) From these verses, we learn that the Lord Jesus is the subject of the Old Testament Scrip tures. The New Testament begins with Jesus Christ (Matt. 1:1), and closes in the same way (Rev. 22:21), and in all the material between them, Christ is the “All in All.” “It is impossible for us to under stand the nature of Scripture unless we view it in relation to the Son of God, the Messiah of Israel, the Re deemer of God’s people; for He is the center and kernel of the inspired record,” affirmed the great Adolph Saphir, and W. L. Tucker agreed: “We can know nothing of Jesus Christ apart from, the Bible, and nothing of the Bible apart from Jesus Christ. The two are so joined and inseparable as to make the Person and the Book one.”
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